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Weng L, Xie Q, Zhao L, Zhang R, Ma Q, Wang J, Jiang W, He Y, Chen Y, Li C, Ni X, Xu Q, Yu R, Huang R. Abnormal structural connectivity between the basal ganglia, thalamus, and frontal cortex in patients with disorders of consciousness. Cortex 2017; 90:71-87. [PMID: 28365490 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2016] [Revised: 09/28/2016] [Accepted: 02/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Consciousness loss in patients with severe brain injuries is associated with reduced functional connectivity of the default mode network (DMN), fronto-parietal network, and thalamo-cortical network. However, it is still unclear if the brain white matter connectivity between the above mentioned networks is changed in patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC). In this study, we collected diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data from 13 patients and 17 healthy controls, constructed whole-brain white matter (WM) structural networks with probabilistic tractography. Afterward, we estimated and compared topological properties, and revealed an altered structural organization in the patients. We found a disturbance in the normal balance between segregation and integration in brain structural networks and detected significantly decreased nodal centralities primarily in the basal ganglia and thalamus in the patients. A network-based statistical analysis detected a subnetwork with uniformly significantly decreased structural connections between the basal ganglia, thalamus, and frontal cortex in the patients. Further analysis indicated that along the WM fiber tracts linking the basal ganglia, thalamus, and frontal cortex, the fractional anisotropy was decreased and the radial diffusivity was increased in the patients compared to the controls. Finally, using the receiver operating characteristic method, we found that the structural connections within the NBS-derived component that showed differences between the groups demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity (>90%). Our results suggested that major consciousness deficits in DOC patients may be related to the altered WM connections between the basal ganglia, thalamus, and frontal cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling Weng
- Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, School of Psychology, Institute of Brain Science and Rehabilitation, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, PR China
| | - Qiuyou Xie
- Centre for Hyperbaric Oxygen and Neurorehabilitation, Guangzhou General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command, Guangzhou 510010, PR China
| | - Ling Zhao
- Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, School of Psychology, Institute of Brain Science and Rehabilitation, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, PR China
| | - Ruibin Zhang
- Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, PR China
| | - Qing Ma
- Centre for Hyperbaric Oxygen and Neurorehabilitation, Guangzhou General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command, Guangzhou 510010, PR China
| | - Junjing Wang
- Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, School of Psychology, Institute of Brain Science and Rehabilitation, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, PR China
| | - Wenjie Jiang
- Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, School of Psychology, Institute of Brain Science and Rehabilitation, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, PR China
| | - Yanbin He
- Centre for Hyperbaric Oxygen and Neurorehabilitation, Guangzhou General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command, Guangzhou 510010, PR China
| | - Yan Chen
- Centre for Hyperbaric Oxygen and Neurorehabilitation, Guangzhou General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command, Guangzhou 510010, PR China
| | - Changhong Li
- Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, School of Psychology, Institute of Brain Science and Rehabilitation, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, PR China
| | - Xiaoxiao Ni
- Centre for Hyperbaric Oxygen and Neurorehabilitation, Guangzhou General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command, Guangzhou 510010, PR China
| | - Qin Xu
- Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, School of Psychology, Institute of Brain Science and Rehabilitation, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, PR China
| | - Ronghao Yu
- Centre for Hyperbaric Oxygen and Neurorehabilitation, Guangzhou General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command, Guangzhou 510010, PR China.
| | - Ruiwang Huang
- Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, School of Psychology, Institute of Brain Science and Rehabilitation, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, PR China.
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